


Liar

by Anonymous



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College, F/M, Katara is stubborn as hell, Mai is only a fling, Modern AU, Songfic, Zuko got his heart broken by tryna be supportive (ofc), Zutara, Zutara Songfic, but then they're happy :D, isso cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:06:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26671876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: She doesn’t care if he’s here. She doesn’t care if he’s not alone. It’s been a year now since they’ve broken up. She doesn’t give a damn about him anymore... right? What a liar he makes her become.
Relationships: Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Kudos: 47
Collections: You Have the Right to Remain Anon





	Liar

**Author's Note:**

> this is a songfic for "Liar" by Camila Cabello

She leans heavily onto her desk, her chin resting on her palm and her wild curly tresses strewn about in almost every direction. Her blue eyes remain thoughtful, but her mind wanders as her professor wraps up his lecture on the ancient myth of the Avatar.

A proud pre-med student, Katara sometimes can’t help her unfortunate lack of enthusiasm for her humanities courses. This history course on myths and legends of the ancient world is no exception. She wishes that she were anywhere else but here in this crowded lecture hall.

As though it wasn’t hard enough for her to pay attention in this class already, she finds herself having to deal with another distraction beyond her med school aspirations:

Zuko Sozin.

Just the very thought of him causes her to clench her fists, and she accidentally tangles her fingers in a few unlucky strands of dark hair. She doesn’t care. She doesn’t care a single bit of what he thinks about her.

He’s sitting just a few rows away from her, canoodled with his latest fling, Mai. Apparently she was a childhood friend of his. And apparently she’d had a crush on him since they were kids. And _apparently_ she’d been waiting a long time for Zuko to be single and distracted enough to look her way.

As though he can sense her gaze, Zuko glances backward at her, his golden eyes searching her face. When she stubbornly doesn’t pay him any mind, he turns back to Mai, whispering something into her ear. From the blush that spreads across Mai’s cheeks, Katara doesn’t even want to think about what Zuko could’ve possibly said to her.

Katara retrains her focus, attempting to hone in on what her professor is lecturing on. Grappling for her tablet and stylus, she tries to scribble down some notes, remembering that she has a final for this class just a month away. She won’t let him take this away from her; med school is all she’s ever dreamed about for years, and Zuko Sozin is the last person who’ll take that away from her.

As her professor breaks down the basic logic behind the Avatar cycle, she recalls the last time she spoke with Zuko, her stylus coming to a halt on her screen.

She’d been so coy about it. She really thought that she wouldn’t miss him. But she does.

Every damn day.

She still remembers the way his voice sounds when he rasps her name. The way he always whispered in her ear during class, wanting to hear her laugh. The way he would take her to his uncle’s teashop whenever she was feeling stressed about finals season. The way he’d wrap his arms around her and swear he’d always keep her warm.

The lecture ends, and Katara packs up her things, slipping on her heavy winter parka and attempting to shrug off thoughts of Zuko. Why would she need him to keep her warm when she has her trusty Southern Water Tribe parka? Huffing, she slings her bag over her shoulder, keeping her chin held up high as she walks toward the door.

Over and over again, she tells herself that she doesn’t care as she makes her way back to her dorm. She repeats it so often that she almost finds herself believing it.

Almost.

“Katara!” a voice calls, strong with a bit of rasp to it.

Her body stiffens instantly, and she fumbles with her key card. The bag that she’d securely settled on her shoulder mere moments ago falls and hits the concrete. Her lips purse, and she doesn’t even bother turning around. “What do you want?” is all she says. She can’t help the bitterness that seeps into her tone as she places her hands on her hips. She can feel him hovering behind her, hesitating. “Well?” she demands further.

Stepping up beside her, Zuko quickly scoops her bag up off the floor, holding it out to her tentatively. He brings a hand to the back of his neck, rubbing it uncertainly. “I just - I just wanted to know if…” he stammers briefly, his voice trailing off almost shakily. His utter lack of confidence is rather startling. Who is this man and what has he done to Zuko Sozin?

“You wanted to know what?” she cuts in, whirling around and arching her brow. Her big parka makes it a bit difficult to appear intimidating, but she thinks she manages to pull the look off anyways. “If you have nothing to say to me, then I have nothing to say to you.” Almost as an afterthought, she remembers her bag and takes it from him, unlocking her door and tossing it and her key card on her carpeted floor.

She’s about to step inside when Zuko reaches beyond her, pulling the door closed again. His close proximity makes her nervous, but she can’t quiet the way her heart is singing as he draws dangerously near to her. 

“I wanted to know,” Zuko begins, his golden eyes searing into her blue ones, “if you’d finally be open to considering a relationship with me.” He leans in even closer, almost cradling her in his arms against her front door.

Katara’s so lost in his gaze that she almost doesn’t register what he says. “What?” she sputters. “Zuko, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” There’s a fire that’s being stoked in the pit of her stomach the closer he comes, and she feels so warm that she’s almost ready to shed her heavy parka in the dead of winter.

His lips twist upward into a bitter smirk, “Oh, Katara.” He says her name just like she remembers. “I think you know all too well what I’m talking about. Don’t be so cold.”

“Zuko,” Katara tries to sigh exasperatedly. “You know that I don’t give a damn about what you do. I just want to be friends. Please. Why can’t you drop this and let us be friends?” She’s literally burning up; whether her massive temperature spike is from Zuko or from her parka she’s not quite sure.

He moves to cup her face in his hands mischievously, “Yes, totally, one hundred percent. We can be friends while you watch me and Mai with murderous jealousy during class.”

Stubbornly, she shifts her face away from him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. We agreed that we wouldn’t date so that I could focus on getting into med school.”

His molten eyes flick upward in an exaggerated eyeroll. “A lot of good that’s done you,” he replies sarcastically, gaze lingering on her lips for just a second too long.

“We broke up a year ago, Zuko,” she states flatly. “We’ve both moved on, and I don’t care about what you do or who you date. You’re free to do as you please.” A bead of sweat forms at the back of her neck, and she hopes that he doesn’t see the falsehood of her words. She barely believes them herself anymore. Deep and far into her most hidden of thoughts, she hopes that he’ll take a step closer, to light her on fire and set her ablaze on this cold winter day.

With a sigh, Zuko takes a step backward instead, his gaze dropping to her concrete porch. “Okay, Katara. I understand. I’ll leave you to whatever you have to do. I have faith that you’ll accomplish your dreams, and I would never want to stand in the way of them.” He gulps hard, his fists balled at his sides. Still, he turns around and takes another step away from her.

Without a second thought, Katara shrugs out of her old parka and reaches out to grab his hand. “Wait.”

Zuko meets her gaze steadily.

“I’m sorry,” Katara finally manages to choke out, her heart welling with fear that he’ll reject her. She wouldn’t blame him, not after all the times she’s tried to convince them both that they were better off without each other. “Please stay,” she whispers, swallowing every last bit of her pride.

He pauses for a moment, searching her eyes for any hint of falsehood or treachery. Giving her hand a small squeeze, he pulls her flush against his broad chest. “Of course,” he whispers back, his lips brushing lightly against her ear. “I guess your parka’s been keeping you warm this whole time we’ve been apart. We need to fix that.”

A thrill soars through Katara’s body as she tilts her face up, her lips crashing into his. “I missed you,” she admits between kisses. “I missed you so damn much.”

He reaches forward, tucking a loose strand of curly hair behind her ear. “I know,” he replies simply, a hint of pride tinting his tone. He presses one last kiss to her lips before continuing, “Now, we should probably get you inside so that you can get back to your studying. I know you’ve got your med school entrance exam soon.”

Katara’s enraptured in him, and the way he’s looking at her now sends shivers down her spine. Reluctantly, she pulls away from him, instantly craving his touch as soon as they’re apart. She picks up her parka, checking the pockets for her key card. She stops. “Zuko… Where’s my key?”

Zuko pales. “It’s not in your coat?” he asks.

Handing the parka over for him to check, she shakes her head. “Not that I can see.”

“...Oh boy.” He digs through all her coat pockets, pulling out some loose change, her campus ID card, and a pack of gum.

No key card.

Peering through her dorm window, Katara finds herself wiggling her way back into Zuko’s embrace. “Well… We somehow locked my key in my dorm.”

Glancing down briefly at the petite girl in his arms, Zuko buries his head in her soft curly hair, breathing in deep. “I guess we’re going back to my place then.” 

“We’re… we’re kind of idiots,” Katara mutters, leaning her head against Zuko’s sturdy chest. “You’ve made me such a liar over the past year, you know that, right?”

A smirk quickly slides its way onto his face at that, and he can’t help but whisper into her ear, “You kinda like it, though… Don’t you?”

The blush that spreads across her cheeks is answer enough for Zuko. He helps her back into her parka, her tiny hand slipping into his big one. As they walk back to his place, Katara can’t help but tilt her head up and lie mischievously, “ _No_ …”

“Liar!” Zuko laughs, pressing another kiss to her lips. “I love you anyways.”

She hesitates for a moment before admitting, “I love you too, Zuko.” And that was pure truth.


End file.
